Van Vleuten dominates. "Mavi" and Cavalli hold firm, while those behind collapse.

«The best defense is offense, as a great former Barcelona player and my compatriot, Johan Cruyff, used to say. ' Taking leave of the mixed zone with this quote, in the fourth stage of the Giro Donne, Annemiek Van Vleuten smooths the climbs around Cesena also taking the lead in the race. In his wake ends Mavi Garcia and in third place at 43" closes Martha Cavalli, victim of the pace set by the Dutchman from Movistar on Carpineta, the last severe obstacle of the day.

These three are the ones who set the race alight from the Barbotto GPM (50 kilometres from the end) practically putting the credits on the stage and perhaps also on the GiroIf yesterday we were saying that another race was starting in Romagna, perhaps it's already over. In fact, they are still leading the general classification: behind the new pink jersey, there is the Spanish rider fromUAE Team ADQ at 25” and the Italian company Fdj Nouvelle Aquitaine to 57".

With the exception of sensational twists and turns, The podium will be played out between these three. Indeed, a chasm filled with minutes has opened up behind them. Longo Borghini (sixth at the finish line) is now fourth in the standings at 5', followed by Ludwig, Spratt, Chabbey, Fisher-Black, Persico (who finished fourth on the stage, overtaking the chasing group) and Magnaldi, who closes the top ten at 6'10”.

The Return of Annemiek

«It's good to be back – Van Vleuten says between one sigh and another, at her twelfth partial success at the Giro Donne – because Last year I couldn't come to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics. (where he won gold in the time trial and silver in the road race, ed.). This is a new challenge for me and for this I think this victory is beautiful, especially since it's my first with Movistar.Now we'll see day by day. It's better not to make plans from now until the end. I was only thinking about today. I knew I could achieve a great result after yesterday's reconnaissance. I had seen the descents twice and today I didn't want to be put under pressure. That's why I attacked. And it went well."

Mavi protagonist

At the start, we noticed how much more pumped up Garcia was than in previous years. Before her national road and time trial titles, she had won a solo stage of the Vuelta Burgos that was a perfect fit for the sprinters. This was a sign that she was in good shape, as confirmed by her leadership in the mountain races.

"No, I wasn't expecting a stage like this," Mavi Garcia explains when asked what size she wants for the green jersey. "At the start I felt good, but I didn't know what stage I was at because they were flat stagesI had a very good training session in Sierra Nevada, but I didn't think I'd feel so good.

«There are still many stages to go – continues the 38-year-old from Palma de Mallorca – but I will live day by day with my eyes wide openI'm very happy right now. I had Covid at the beginning of May, but I haven't been too ill. I haven't missed any days of work. Now I have to recover and hope that nothing happens tomorrow. In the Olbia stage, in that very complicated final, I took a 6” hole because we took a roundabout from the longer sideWe had to run for 3 kilometers at full throttle without managing to close the gap. I recovered today, and that's fine. The Giro is not closed. From here on out, everyone can find their right or wrong day."

Marta raises the stakes

When Cavalli lost contact with her two breakaway companions one kilometer before the Carpineta summit, there was a mutter of disapproval from the crowd in Cesena who were following the race on giant screens and with speakers. And when she crossed the finish line they gave her applause and cheers. In fact, she doesn't give up.

"At the end of the last climb," the 24-year-old from Cremona revealed, "I was a bit lacking in feeling with this kind of effort. We haven't been pushing hard these days, so I lost a bit, especially since the heat didn't help. I'm not discouraged because I know that as the days go by and the fatigue increases I can recover better.I'm a little behind in terms of condition but I can make up positions and that's fine."

«Now we are enclosed in a minute – concludes Cavalli – barring any extreme crisis on some challenging climb, the three of us could play it outWe need to recover in the Reggio Emilia area, then four tough days await us. Honestly, I didn't expect a stage like this. I thought there would be about twenty of us arriving, but no. In the end, it's better that a day like this happened now, at least the hierarchies are established.. Now the tension has really disappeared completely and we're playing it out."

We were certainly expecting a nervous stage, but under the scorching heat of Cesena a cataclysm has arrivedThe Giro Donne appears to be a done deal, a three-way affair. Now we'll have to see who will recover better.From here to Padua, there's plenty of room for revolution. Ahead or behind. It'll be interesting to see who comes up with something.